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Impromptu most often describes things, such as speeches or gatherings, that are not prepared ahead of time but that instead happen spontaneously. An impromptu concert or photoshoot, for example, is conceived and executed in the moment. Impromptu was borrowed—spelling, meaning, and all—from French in the mid-18th century. The French had gotten the word from Latin, from the phrase in promptu, meaning “in readiness.” But the presence of prompt in there is no coincidence: both impromptu and prompt are ultimately derived from the Latin promere, meaning “to bring forth, take out.”
Examples of impromptu in a Sentence
Lindsey Tramuta, Robb Report, 18 Sep. 2025
In 1976 the French singer who had transcribed the Pathétique sonata for the impromptu quartet published the first book about the orchestra.
—Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2025
Meeting at the watercooler, impromptu lunches and office celebrations simply do not translate the same way across Zoom.
—Chintan Shah, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
The View transformed from a talk show to a temporary health checkup Tuesday morning, as moderator Whoopi Goldberg gave the in-studio audience an impromptu poll about their vaccination status live on the air.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Impromptu.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impromptu. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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